Mad loads identity by Ammunition

Branding and design consultancy Ammunition has created a visual identity for Mad Group, a start-up organisation promoting ethical products to mainstream audiences.

The consultancy is also designing the group’s website, set for launch before the end of the year, and will work with public relations agency August One Communications to market the Mad Show, a consumer event to be held at Earls Court in June 2006.

Mad Group held separate pitches for its design and PR activity earlier this year. Ammunition was not invited to the design brief, but according to consultancy managing director Gabbi Cahane, it presented a ‘one-stop design and PR solution’ alongside August One, which secured the contract.

‘The Mad Group is trying to harness the new excitement and desire for living responsible lives,’ explains Ammunition managing director Gabbi Cahane. ‘We’ve worked with the organisation from the ground up, identifying its strategy and how the market should be spoken to and coming up with a visual identity.’

Mad – or Make a Difference – was formed four months ago to act as a conduit between companies working in the ethical goods arena and the mainstream public.

The organisation’s initial target market is an affluent audience living in and around London. Ammunition was keen to create an identity that eschewed the tree-hugging connotations of the ethical marketplace.

Orange is the identity’s core colour, avoiding the green usually associated with the sector. The logotype employs a customised version of 1970s typeface ITC Bauhaus.

‘Fair trade, sustainability and recycling are all dull, worthy words,’ claims Mad Group managing director Richard Bratton. ‘We aren’t. We rate ethical values and products and want to act as a catalyst for them to gain access to ABC1 consumers.’